The region’s best and brightest companies and leaders are being urged to get their entries in for the Suffolk Business Awards, run by the East Anglian Daily Times.
They have until Friday, May 4, to submit their bid for a host of prestigious titles at the 2018 ceremony, which this year is being held for the 21st time.
Finalists will be named in June and the winners announced at a gala dinner in July.
The awards are again being run by the EADT in association with joint main sponsors EDF Energy and Suffolk Chamber of Commerce.
The reigning Business of the Year, Ipswich-based social care recruitment firm Sanctuary Personnel, which also picked up the Large Business and The Youth Pledge categories, urged other businesses to take part, citing the positive impact on morale.
Managing director James Rook said: “It has made the entire company very proud and delighted to get this recognition. We are all proud of the work we do but when you get a third party recognising your good work it means more.”
He added: “The profile of getting our name in the press has meant that more local people are aware of our achievements. I’m convinced that has helped in our recruitment process.
“People are aware we have won awards and it gives them confidence they are not just joining any old company.”
Bury St Edmunds-based financial advisers Beckett Investment Management Group was a double winner at last year’s event after scooping Medium Business of the Year, while its managing director Ian White was named Director of the Year.
He said award had helped with recruitment - a crucial tool in the region’s battle for talent.
“We won a Suffolk Business Award and it has significantly raised our profile in East Anglia, helping us to attract potential recruits and new business,” said Mr White.
Karen Finch, managing director of the Hearing Care Centre in Ipswich, which won the Customer Care and Showcasing Excellence titles, said the feel-good factor helped inspire the firm towards further improvement.
As well as the positive publicity, those taking part also got the opportunity to look more closely at their own businesses and learn from the experience, she said. It also inspired greater loyalty from clients, she added.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here